"Nox, I think the Flower has already taken control or killed the rest of the Awakened."
Elena expressed her thoughts — there was clear worry in her silver eyes.
"Why didn't you say that in front of Ronan?"
I was puzzled by her behavior; she could've said it easily. It wasn't an impossible thought — in fact, I had considered it myself.
"Ronan doesn't have a strong mentality. If I said that in front of him, he would panic and lose hope. It's important to leave people some hope — even if it's just an illusion."
Elena's words convinced me. She was right — Ronan wasn't that strong, especially mentally. Convincing him to fight and not give up would've been difficult.
"Nox, I told you this knowing you've already thought of the same possibility. That's why I want us to discuss a plan for the current situation. I also want to suggest that we shouldn't trust anyone else — even if we meet survivors. Who knows? Maybe the Flower has already taken control of them, and they might try to deceive us."
Elena's reasoning surprised me. It was strange to see someone like her speaking seriously about such dangerous matters.
"You're right. But can't we just check others using your light?"
Elena froze at my words, then spoke nervously.
"Nox... I don't know why, but the Flower didn't react to my light like other corrupted beings. Even when they died — didn't you notice I didn't purify the vines or flowers? That's because I couldn't. It's as if…"
She stopped, unable to find the words to continue. It felt like she was about to reveal something dangerous. Gathering her courage, she looked straight at me.
"Nox, what I'm about to say might sound crazy… but maybe the Cursed Flower isn't actually cursed."
Her words left me confused. I tilted my head, signaling her to explain clearly.
"What I mean is… maybe the corpses are corrupted, but the Flower controlling them isn't. It's a natural being — that's why it wasn't affected by the purification of light."
Elena's explanation made my eyes widen in shock — it felt as if the world itself had flipped upside down.
"That's insane! You must be wrong, Elena. Think about it — the texts said the Flower was cursed. There was never any mention of corruption anywhere. I saw Eleanor's memories myself; there was no corruption before the Flower appeared!"
I spoke angrily, rejecting Elena's ridiculous theory.
"Nox, we don't actually know the full history of this world. We can't rely on incomplete knowledge. Maybe humans misunderstood things and thought the corruption came from the Flower. Also, regarding Eleanor's tree — she never left the forest. I don't know why the Flower would fight her or why it controls others."
Elena's reasoning was sound, but I refused to believe it. It was madness to think any being in the Abyss wasn't corrupted. Even Eleanor, who kept her mind intact, was almost corrupted and constantly fighting for survival.
"Elena, isn't the reason just the difference in power between you and the Flower? You're just an Awakened, while it's at least at Stage Seven, maybe even Six."
Elena shook her head firmly.
"No, Nox. I'm confident in my ability to influence even strong beings — at least slightly. But the Flower didn't react at all. Actually, we can test my theory easily."
"How can we do that?"
I asked, my tired mind strangely alert to her words.
"The next time we fight the Flower, let me heal it. If it works — that means it's not corrupted."
Her proposal was insane — who in their right mind would try to heal a corrupted being that destroyed an entire world?
"…Fine."
I replied quietly. I didn't want to continue the conversation anymore; it exhausted me mentally even more than dying over and over again.
If what she says is true — if the Flower isn't corrupted — that changes everything. Could we communicate with it? Negotiate, maybe? But if it's not corrupted, then why did it attack us? Shouldn't it know we're normal beings? And what was the reason it destroyed the world in the first place?
I bit my tongue in frustration — there were too many questions and too few answers. After things calmed down, Elena and I returned to camp. Ronan was already asleep, so we lay down and rested as well.
I forced myself to sleep, pushing away all those unpleasant thoughts. Elena should've saved that conversation for later — at least until we recovered the key.
Morning came. The sun slowly rose but was still hidden behind dark clouds. We moved out immediately, heading toward the Temple of Courage without delay.
Standing before the shattered gate, we saw stones and wood scattered everywhere. We entered cautiously. The ground was made of bricks — perhaps once white, now blackened and brittle with time.
All the surrounding buildings were covered in vines, but there wasn't a single flower in sight.
"This is strange… there are no monsters here."
Elena said, scanning the area carefully.
"Let's head straight to the temple. But remember — if things go bad, we retreat and blow up the entire place."
The others nodded in understanding. We moved toward the city center and stopped before a long flight of stairs. I looked around at the pillars carved with symbols and figures — I couldn't recognize most of them.
For some reason, all the carvings depicting Adam had their faces destroyed, preventing identification.
"Looks like these tell stories of Adam helping others."
Ronan said, staring at a few carvings showing Adam healing the sick.
I turned my gaze toward the statues arranged in a specific pattern. All were decapitated, but I recognized one statue by its clothing — Adam's. It was also the largest, positioned at the center.
He wore priestly robes with a cross symbol. His gloved right hand held a cross, while his left hand was raised to the sky, holding a heart — likely a symbol of courage.
"The details are incredible…"
Elena spoke in awe and admiration — she probably would've taken pictures if she had her phone.
"Let's move."
I said, climbing the stairs slowly and cautiously, holding my sword tightly in case of a sudden attack. But nothing happened.
We finally reached the temple. The marble gate bore carvings of angels — faceless again — with a single phrase engraved beneath:
[Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather moving forward despite a trembling heart. ]
'This sounds like something Adam might say. This is the kind of person I remember from Eleanor's memories. '
I placed my hand on the gate and pushed it open slowly.
Creak!
The heavy doors groaned as they opened for the first time in centuries. The inner hall was vast — torches lined the walls, and a raised circular altar stood at the center, surrounded by four stone braziers.
"There's nothing here?"
Ronan asked nervously, gripping his sword. The silence pressing down on the temple was suffocating.
I didn't answer. I walked forward, scanning the walls — claw marks covered them, destroying every carving, as if someone had been furious at their sight.
I stopped at the altar. In its center rested a red crystal glowing with a crimson light. I felt immense energy radiating from it — instinctively, I knew it was the key we were looking for.
I bent down to pick it up — but a sound from ahead made me leap back cautiously.
Elena and Ronan both unleashed their auras, ready to fight. We stared into the dark corridor, waiting for the monster to emerge.
I could see in the dark, so I saw it first.
"A… human?!"
I exclaimed in disbelief. The others froze at my words, then saw him themselves.
A tall young man — around 183cm — with blond hair and crimson eyes, wearing a full steel armor and a greatsword strapped to his back. We all recognized him immediately — he was one of the people who entered with us.
"Claus!! Is that you?"
Ronan shouted in shock, unable to believe his eyes.
The boy — Claus — smiled warmly.
"Well, what a surprise! I didn't expect to find other survivors — and three of you, no less. It's good to see you alive, Ronan."
He took a step forward — but a dark spear struck the ground before him, stopping him in his tracks.
Claus froze, staring at me in confusion.
"Nox, what are you doing?! I know Claus — he's my friend!"
Ronan shouted in panic, but I ignored him.
"Claus, right? As you can see, I can't trust you. You might be under the Flower's control. So I'd appreciate it if you stayed where you are."
I spoke coldly, releasing killing intent so strong it made everyone tremble.
Claus quickly raised his hands.
"Whoa, calm down! I swear I'm not an enemy! I'm not alone — when my companion arrives, you'll see for yourself!"
"Fine, Claus. Tell me what happened here. Why are there no monsters or traces of the Flower? And who's your companion? Did you meet any other survivors?"
I demanded, summoning a shadow spear — not to attack, but to distract him in case I needed to strike first. Elena was already ready to ambush.
"I found myself near this place. When I saw the temple, I decided to investigate. That's where I met Luke — one of the others who entered with us. For some reason, there are no monsters here. We found a map pointing to other locations, but a massive horde of creatures blocked the way. That's how we learned about the Cursed Flower. Luke's outside watching the monsters — he should be back soon. Is that enough? Please, lower your aura!"
I didn't care about his plea — my eyes narrowed as I increased my pressure.
"And what proves you're telling the truth? You expect me to believe that a temple containing one of Adam's keys just happens to be monster-free? Also, why didn't you take the crystal from the altar? Everything points to you lying."
"Huh? Adam? Keys? What are you talking about? We did find the crystal, yes — but the reason we didn't take it is because removing it allows the monsters to enter the city!"
Claus spoke with genuine confusion — maybe even honesty.
"Hmph. Fine. We'll tie you up for now. When your friend arrives, I'll decide what to do."
I said, binding him with chains of darkness.
"Hey, what are you—?!"
Before he could finish, a dark blade stopped at his throat.
"Shut up, or I'll kill you. Ronan, watch him. If you go easy on him because he's your friend, I'll kill you too. Understood?"
Ronan trembled but obeyed.
While we waited, Ronan explained to Claus about Adam and the keys. Claus was shocked, horrified at the truth, and apologized for Rianna's death.
"He seems normal enough to me," Elena murmured beside me.
"Don't let your guard down. Be ready to kill both him and his partner the moment something feels off."
Time passed quickly. We soon heard footsteps approaching. A short young man — around 170cm — entered the temple. His faded black hair and bright green eyes gave him a sharp, assassin-like look. Gray clothes, twin daggers on his belt.
The moment he saw the scene inside, he froze, his hands reaching for his weapons. But dark chains appeared behind him, binding him before he could react.
"Don't resist, or I'll kill you."
Luke stopped moving, glaring at me.
"What's the meaning of this?! Why attack us — why is Claus tied up?!"
Before I could reply, Claus spoke from the side.
"Calm down, Luke! They think we might be under the Flower's control. Don't provoke them — especially Nox, he's insane."
Chains coiled around Claus's mouth, silencing him.
"So, Luke — your friend said the monsters can't enter because the crystal is in the altar. Is that true?"
Luke nodded.
"Yes. We tried taking it once — the monsters attacked immediately."
"Good. Then you won't mind if I test that."
"What do you mean by—"
Before he could finish, the chains wrapped around him too, silencing him.
I walked slowly toward the altar.
I lifted the crystal and took it out of the altar. .
At first, nothing happened. Then the ground trembled.
"Nox! Come here!"
Elena shouted from outside. I rushed to her side and looked where she pointed.
A massive storm of dust was rising — no, not dust — thousands of monsters charging straight toward us.
"Damn it… they were right."
I cursed, quickly returning the crystal to its place. The moment I did, the monsters stopped.
"They're dispersing… as if they lost their target."
Elena said.
I sighed in relief, then dispelled the chains and freed both Claus and Luke.
"Phew…"
Claus exhaled in relief, stretching his arms.
"You lunatic! Were you trying to kill us?!"
Luke shouted angrily, stepping toward me — but froze when my killing intent flared again.
"Don't be stupid. Anyone with half a brain would've done the same. You two stayed here in safety while the rest of us nearly died several times just to get here. Don't expect kindness from me. Understood?"
When he nodded reluctantly, I withdrew my aura and sat quietly against the wall. Elena sat beside me; Ronan sat with Claus, and Luke soon joined them.
"Ronan, explain everything to him. Tell him what happened and what our plan is."
Ronan did as told.
"Gods… how are we supposed to survive in this world?"
Luke cursed in fear and despair.
"Enough. Don't act like a scared little girl. We've already been through hell on our own — this will be easier now that we have more people. We don't need to cross the mountains anymore; we'll head straight to the Temple of Truth."
I scolded him coldly. He froze, terrified. Claus quickly intervened to calm things down.
"Alright, Nox, we understand. Just… please, don't be so hostile."
He laughed nervously under my icy gaze. Elena finally stepped in, trying to ease the tension.
"I'm glad to work with you both. Though… I'm curious how you've survived without food."
Claus smiled cheerfully.
"The honor's mine, Lady Elena. As for food — there's a well nearby, and we've been eating the vines covering the buildings. Bitter, but better than nothing."
"Is that so? Don't worry — I can purify monster meat. We just need to hunt some."
"Oh, that's worth celebrating!"
Both Claus and Luke brightened up. Elena smiled kindly; Ronan sighed in relief. But I couldn't shake off an uncomfortable feeling.
How did humanity die if the Flower couldn't enter the cities? Couldn't they just build things like this everywhere and survive?
I wondered as I stood up. Everyone looked at me questioningly.
"I'll check the area. There should be some kind of record storage here."
"There's one downstairs. Honestly, we didn't bother with it — the manuscripts are ancient and fragile, so be careful."
Claus pointed toward one of the corridors. I nodded and walked into the dark passage.
....